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By ANDREW POWELL SALZBURG \u2014 The gimmicky proposition of Mozart\u2019s Requiem enhanced with equine ballet dominated this year\u2019s Mozartwoche<\/a> schedule, and no doubt budget. It capped, in a way, five iterations of the festival lavishly managed by Marc Minkowski<\/a> and his front-office counterpart Matthias Schulz<\/a>, and it brought in for the second time the French conductor\u2019s compatriot Cl\u00e9ment Marty, called \u201cBartabas<\/a>,\u201d to choreograph the horses and riders of his Acad\u00e9mie \u00c9questre Nationale du Domaine de Versailles<\/a>. Conventional fare for 2017 included the Vienna Philharmonic in three programs, concerts by five other orchestras, and much chamber music.<\/p>\n Minkowski kept the Mass tempos brisk Jan. 29, and textures fairly clear given the stashing of all voices and instruments in the Felsenreitschule<\/a>\u2019s arrayed stone arches. The vocal quartet (Genia K\u00fchmeier<\/a>, Elisabeth Kulman<\/a>, Peter Sonn<\/a>, Charles Dekeyser<\/a>) and the Salzburger Bachchor<\/a> sang with poised radiance; Les Musiciens du Louvre<\/a>, unable to hear each other normally, appeared keenly attentive to Minkowski\u2019s distant signals, but their instruments did not fully project.<\/p>\n Eight blue-eyed, cream-coated Lusitanos, new to Austria, trotted, walked or stepped in calm, tidy formations through most of the score. Brief sudden flurries punctuated this tame pageant when the composer seemed to prompt, for instance for the Confutatis<\/em>, and Bartabas\u2019 own \u201cSoutine,\u201d a black stallion, effected a silent spotlit solo roly-poly before the Sanctus<\/em>, a kind of seventh-inning scratch likely meant for contemplation. But aside from occasional grunts, snorts and ear-flappings (often a tempo<\/em>), the Acad\u00e9mie\u2019s efforts added little in drama or spirituality.<\/p>\n Minkowski instructively framed the main work, without ballet. Mozart\u2019s pensive A-Minor Miserere<\/em> for three voices (1770) established the choral sound unopposed, its alternating verses sung to plainchant. Then came the Symphony from H\u00e4ndel\u2019s Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline \u201cThe Ways of Zion Do Mourn\u201d<\/em> (1737), whose first chorus lends the theme for the Requiem\u2019s Introito<\/em>. Afterwards, the familiar Ave verum corpus<\/em> refocused ears and eyes on Salzburg\u2019s polished choristers.<\/p>\n In the Eroica<\/em> Symphony the previous evening (Jan. 28), Thomas Hengelbrock<\/a>\u2019s understating of rhythmic accents created irresolute impressions. But the NDR<\/a> conductor traced the second movement\u2019s deathly promenade in gripping dynamic detail, courtesy of the Vienna Philharmonic<\/a> strings, and to the Finale he brought weight, drama, and the broadest lyricism, riding confidently on Beethoven\u2019s counterpoint.<\/p>\n The Gro\u00dfes Festspielhaus<\/a> concert began with the overture to Don Giovanni<\/em>, played vigorously and with considerable power. These qualities carried over to Mozart\u2019s D-Minor Piano Concerto, K466 (1785), suiting Leif Ove Andsnes<\/a>\u2019 conception of the solo part: lucid, to a degree elegant, not especially charming. Beethoven\u2019s cadenza in the first movement sounded splendid yet out of place; Andsnes opted for Hummel\u2019s in the third movement, concise and less Romantic. There were occasional problems in the horns and trumpets.<\/p>\n Cappella Andrea Barca<\/a>, regular guest of Mozartwoche, upheld its sterling reputation in a generous Mozarteum<\/a> matin\u00e9e Jan. 29, captained from memory by Andr\u00e1s Schiff<\/a>. The Prague<\/em> Symphony (1786) emerged in deep, neatly distinguished colors, product of a light string body resonating low on the hall\u2019s cozy platform, with violins divided and a bass on either side. Beguiling flute, oboe and bassoon work did the composer proud; rhythms were pointed smartly. Haydn\u2019s Clock<\/em> Symphony (1794), after the break, traded elegance and humor as required. Cellos anchored the Cappella\u2019s consistently handsome sound.<\/p>\n Schiff opened and closed the program playing concertos on a modern B\u00f6sendorfer: a witty account of Haydn\u2019s D-Major Piano Concerto (1780), its contours inflated and flattered by the warm acoustics; and a gracefully phrased Piano Concerto in A Major, K488 (1786), indeterminate in mood, but with its illusive logic held together convincingly across all three movements. Bravissimo<\/em>.<\/p>\n Photo \u00a9 Matthias Baus ISM<\/p>\n Related posts:
Published: February 24, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n
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